The Wrong Side

Chapter 11

    I've never seen the Endurance headquarters, except during some of my lessons and those were only pictures or videos. They all failed to capture the grandeur and feel of actually seeing it in person. I want Venning to stop the car so that I can go outside and get a proper look at it. It looks like a city because that's what it is. The city was designed to house all the people who worked directly for the Endurance as well as their families. The city's outskirts are composed mostly of residential and smaller businesses who thrive in the city. None of the houses are like what I grew up it; mine is old and outdated but all the ones here are sleek and white. They look cold and unwelcoming and I'm not sure I'd want to have grown up here instead of in my abandoned neighbourhood.

    There's a thick ring of houses and as we get closer to the city, I can see a single skyscraper sticking out of its centre with several smaller buildings surrounding it. That building is where everything important in the Endurance happens. It's the labs, the training centre for the military, it's the government and it's where Venning is headed.

    Before Venning enters the city, he darkens the windows all around us. I can still see out of it, but I have a feeling that no one can see in. As we drive through the city, I see more people than I ever have and probably ever will in my life. It's absolutely incredible and I almost press my nose against the window in order to get a closer look. I restrain myself though and satisfy my curiosity by just looking from my seat.

    "Sir," I say and Venning looks at me through the rearview mirror. "Why are we here? I know you said I have a choice to make, but why here?"

    "There's insufficient space and materials at your house in case you make a certain choice."

    "Then why couldn't you have asked me then, and then if I made that choice, you bring me here?"

    "The drive's too long. You may end up talking yourself out of it."

    After that, I don't say anything until Venning slows down at the outside of the central buildings: the main official Endurance headquarters. The guards outside wave him in without any hesitation and he drives through a heavily guarded gate, towards the skyscraper. Outside the building and within the gates, I can see groups of younger people who are either running through the area or standing in perfect lines in front of someone else. This must be the Endurance's training program. I don't get a proper look because Venning drives through too fast for me to catch anything. I'm nervous; there's butterflies in my stomach and I can feel my heart about to beat out of its chest.

We weave through the compound and towards the center of the city's core where a skyscraper looms over the rest of the world. I don't have to ask to know this is where Venning works primarily. I want to get out and explore the grounds, but the doors are locked and Venning would definitely not approve. My curiosity is infinite at the moment; I want Venning to tell me everything right now. I want him to answer the questions I've had burning inside me forever. I want him to tell me why he's taking me to the heart of the Endurance. Instead, I bite my tongue and wait for him to explain on his own accord.

He finally stops the car in a private, closed off parking spot. Only one other vehicle is present beside us on the right. It's designed in a very similar fashion as Venning's and it matches the color scheme of the entire city: it's smooth, slick, shiny and white. Colorless and dull.

"Who's car is that?" I ask Venning after we exit his.

"It belongs to Director Obarski.  Follow me," he orders and he starts walking to a pair of metal doors that slide open when he scans a pass hiding in his pocket.

Behind the doors is a glass elevator surrounded by polished stone.  After we're inside, Venning uses a voice command to bring us to the top floor. The ride is so smooth and flawlessly designed that the only indication of us moving is the change of scenery around us and the city growing smaller beneath my feet. I can see everything from here -- all the citizens and cars resemble little dots in this sleek, shiny, black, white and silver world.